Dos & Don’ts of House Tours
When you’re house hunting, the real fun part is walking through prospective houses. You start imagining yourself living in certain places and begin truly learning what you like and don’t like in a home.
But there are certain ground rules when touring houses. Following these guidelines not only helps maintain clarity in your decision-making, but also can prevent potential problems with sellers. The last thing you want to do when checking out houses is anger a seller and/or hurt your negotiating power. See some of our dos and don’ts below.
Don’t bring an entourage.
The more people you bring along for showings, the more cooks you have in the kitchen (both literally and figuratively!). Another opinion can be helpful … but it can quickly turn to too many opinions that become distracting. You want to be focusing on your needs and wants, not those of someone else’s.
Additionally, the more bodies at a showing, the higher the potential for something to go wrong. And anything that is damaged or broken could not only be your responsibility to fix, but could also hurt your negotiating power should you want to buy the house. We’re not saying you can’t bring anyone else along for your showings, just talk to your Realtor about it first.
Do assume the seller is watching and/or listening.
We live in a very tech-centric world. Alexa, Echo, Ring, Arlo, SimpliSafe are just a few of the possible technologies present in anyone’s homes. And while it’s considered unethical, and potentially even illegal, for sellers to monitor what prospective buyers are doing and saying in their homes, it is not at all uncommon. So you absolutely want to be careful about what you say and do inside and outside of a home you are touring. Because anything you say or do could be used against you!
Don’t post videos or photos or use live-streaming services.
Remember, you are on someone else’s property when you are touring a home. And taking video or photos that you then post online can be construed as a violation of privacy. Not only that, but if the seller or listing agent happens across your unapproved use of images, it can be especially compromising for your negotiating position.
Sometimes video or photos are warranted in certain situations - like when a decision maker is not able to make the showing with you or simply wanting to remember the home so you can refer back to it. The main thing here is to remember is to respect the seller’s privacy and ask your Realtor first if it is ok to take some personal photos or videos. But never, under any circumstances, should you post any images you capture.
Do use your imagination.
Not everyone has the same style and taste in finishes. So while it’s common to get fixated on things like light fixtures, window treatments and paint color, you have to remember to use your imagination and re-focus on the things that are not readily changed. Fixtures, window treatments and paint color are relatively inexpensive and easy things to change to match your style once you own the home. But things like location and number of bedrooms are not. This is why working with a Realtor is so helpful - we not only have imagination, but we can help you envision it and re-focus on the important things. Namely your needs and wants home search list.
Read this and more on the National Association of Realtor’s homebuyer blog.